Terry Fox | Terry Fox Run

This morning's Terry Fox Run at High Park was amazing. I've been participating every year for over a decade now, and I don't remember a morning as warm as this one. Some years I'm wearing my Terry Fox tee shirt over a sweater but this year it was hot when the run began at 9am.

I want to thank every single person who pledged my run. Together we raised $737.

My 2017 Terry Fox Run heroes are:

Thomas E.

Faunie H.

Steve Y

Javed Jafri

Brian Gerstein

Shawn G.

Steve L.

Stephen B.

Troy

Cheryl

Rick C in Oakville

Blind Dave.

Dale

Paula A.

Eric M.

Maarten H.

Miriam. D

Broni

markosaar

Pete Fowler

I rode with the two older kids to High Park and had to stop and take a picture. It really was a perfect day.

My family and I participated in this morning's Terry Fox Run at High Park. It's an annual tradition for us, and this was one of the warmest and sunniest runs I can remember.

Thanks to you, we managed to raise $995 this year. A hearty thanks to all who contributed:

Dale

Blind Dave

Cheryl

Rob J

Pete Fowler

Jason from Sudbury

Rick C in Oakville

Javed Jafri

McNulty

Devin H.

Markosaar

Douglas M.

Brian Gerstein

Greg E.

Peter S.

Broni

Faunie

Mary

Shawn G.

Barry J.

Stephanie D.

Doug M.

Andrew R.

James Edgar

Miriam

Grant

felix

James H.

Il Duce

You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men... at 8am, me and my two oldest kids started biking to High Park along the Waterfront Trail. In Mimico, I busted a tube, and had to jog the rest of the way. It was close, but I made in time for the pre-run speeches.

We're a couple of weeks removed from the final Tragically Hip show in Kingston and I'm still digesting it all. Certain images are etched in my psyche and keep pushing their way to the forefront. One such image is Gord Downie in his Jaws t-shirt.

Gord wore that t-shirt throughout the tour. When I saw it during the Toronto show I attended, I started wondering about the symbolism. There's no way that's a random choice of shirt, our poet laureate was saying something.

The Dark Canuck refrerences Jaws.

In the clouds of blood at the end of Jaws
In the misted cars honking their applause
At the drive-in double feature
At the heart of dark enough
It's Jaws and The Dark Canuck
Should we stay for The Dark Canuck?

Then, there's the obivious. The shark is Gord's cancer and the swimmer is Gord. He can keep swimming, but the shark is looming, preparing to pounce. It's only a matter of time...

I've decided I need to buy a Jaws t-shirt, exactly like the one Gord wore. I'd rather buy one in person than online, so if you know a place in Toronto that's selling these shirts without charging an arm and a leg, let me know.

Because I was in Cape Breton during the final Hip concert, I only recently saw Michael de Adder's "For Canadian eyes only" cartoon for the Toronto Star. It's fantastic.

One of the four iconic images de Adder chose was Terry Fox running in his Marathon of Hope. I'll be running for Terry later this month and would be honoured if you'd pledge my run. Here's the link: http://www.terryfox.ca/torontomike

Next Sunday is the Terry Fox Run. I'll be at High Park for 9am, and that means my kids will be there.

My oldest son is 12 going on 17. When I wake him up on a weekend before noon, he deems it cruel and unusual punishment. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him we were going to be in High Park at 9am next Sunday.

I looked my sweet boy in the eyes, reminded him that Terry Fox ran a marathon a day on one leg, and told him he can get up at 8am next Sunday. He didn't complain again.